SEC Chair Mary Jo White used her last address as Chair of the SEC to criticize efforts by the new Congress to increase the SEC’s accountability, calling the House’s recent efforts “conflicting, burdensome and needlessly detailed… and of no benefit to investors.”

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling promptly responded by calling Chair White’s comments “disappointing”, and encouraged her to “re-read the Constitution” to the extent she is suggesting Congress should defer to the SEC. Chairman Hensarling also critiqued the SEC for doing “nothing to help small business entrepreneurs, and has “consistently failed to fulfill its capital formation mission”.

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Jay Clayton, a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell, with a primarily transaction based background, as the new Chairman of the SEC. A schedule for Mr. Clayton’s confirmation hearings is not yet available.